Root Vegetable Chowder

If I could give one universal cooking tip to every single patient I see in clinic it would be this: master the art of making homemade soup. Homemade soups are a wonderful way to incorporate vegetables into your diet, prepare a satisfying meal that everyone in your family will enjoy, and also reduce the amount of fat, calories, and sodium you consume. Beyond that, soup is simple to make at home, can be prepared in as little as 30 minutes, is inexpensive, and makes wonderful leftovers for later in the week or to stock the freezer. This recipe is a rich vegetable chowder perfect for cold winter nights and to help you utilize extra vegetables sitting in the bottom of your refrigerator's crisper.


Now, if you've watched any television since January 1st you've undoubtedly seen commercials touting the health benefits of low-calorie canned soups, zero point soups, low-sodium soups, high fiber soups. I'm challenging you to be a savvy consumer and read the ingredient and nutrition labels of those "healthy" canned soups next time you're at the grocery store. Even low sodium soups contain more than 400 mg of sodium per 1 cup serving, and who actually eats just one serving of soup for a meal? According to the Mayo Clinic, the average American gets consumes about 3400 mg of sodium every day, the vast majority of which comes in the form of processed foods like bread, canned soups, and frozen entrees. Only about 5% of the average American's daily sodium intake comes from the salt we add to food while cooking. To help put this into perspective, our bodies need between 180-500 mg of sodium daily to function properly. The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that individuals over age 51, African Americans, and individuals with hypertension, diabetes, or chronic kidney disease should limit their daily sodium intake to 1500 mg or less.  Mayo Clinic has a list of helpful tips you can use at home to help reduce your salt intake and how to read food labels for hidden sources of added sodium.

You can make this chowder in 30 minutes by using low sodium canned vegetable stock, but you can also use homemade stock as well for extra sodium savings. The vegetables listed in the recipe are merely my suggestions, feel free to experiment with whatever veggies you happen to have on hand. To make this dairy free, substitute non-dairy margarine spread and soymilk in this recipe. Need to make it gluten free? Just use a gluten-free all purpose flour blend. Personally, I'm quite fond of this dish with a warm batch of Herbed Flatbread for quick weeknight dinner. This dish is so rich and satisfying you'll never guess it has only 150 calories and 5 grams of fat per serving. Enjoy!

Root Vegetable Chowder, Serves 8
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp flour
1/2 medium onion, diced
4 carrots, sliced
4 stalks celery, sliced
4 parsnips, sliced
3 Yukon gold potatoes, chopped in 1/2" dice
3 bay leaves
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1-28oz carton reduced sodium vegetable stock or homemade stock
1/2 - 1 cup fat free half and half or lowfat milk
Pepper to taste
Parsley for garnish if desired

Melt butter in a heavy bottomed stock pot over medium heat. Add oil and onion, saute for 3 minutes. Add carrots, celery, and parsnips, saute for an additional 5-7 minutes or until fragrant. Add flour, bay leaves, thyme and nutmeg, stirring well. Add vegetable stock and potatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Add half and half or milk, and heat through. Add salt and pepper to taste.

If broth is too thin for your liking, mix 1 Tbsp cornstarch with 2 Tbsp cold water and add after adding milk. Bring to a boil again, reduce heat and wait for broth to thicken.